Of Shinigami and Swordsmen
by Aka Pine
Summary: What do you get when you have Abarai Renji meet Roronoa Zoro? Chaos, blood loss, swearing. You know, the usual. A story of Zoro, if he ever heard of Soul Society, and wha lengths he might go to to defeat Mihawk.
1. Pineapples and Moss

**_If you have stumbled across this story by accident, I apologize. You should go read One Piece and Bleach, otherwise...well, none of this will make sense._**

**_I offer no other apologies. This is one of three-four stories I'm currently working on, so it won't be updated as frequently as if, say, I only worked on one story at a time (sorry)._**

**_I'm honestly surprised someone hasn't done something like this yet though. Zeesh._**

**_Enjoy...if you can._**

* * *

Abarai Renji wasn't one to shy away from conflict or a challenge. Normally, he was the one in the middle of such things, either by association with a certain Strawberry Idiot, or by his ambition to surpass his own Captain.

However, even though he didn't consider himself a coward, he was wary at the offer that was put before him in the strangest of circumstances.

"Lemme fight ya. If I win, you take me with you so I can fight the others."

"And if ya lose?"

"Then ya leave me here to die. You in, Shinigami?"

He was in a remote part of a Real World, on a small island that was literally in the middle of nowhere. It was nice enough for an island, he supposed. Tall palm trees, beautiful white beaches, fruit on every branch of a tree, and exotic wildlife inhabited this island.

Well, at least they used to. Until today.

The palm trees were all uprooted, looking as if a giant baby had simply knocked them over or had used them for it's own personal dominoes set. The sand held craters in every other odd space, and there was even the odd little pile that suggested that someone (whether before or after all Hell broke lose) had attempted to build a sand castle. As for the wild animals, Renji was fairly certain they wouldn't be back out from hiding for a long time...if they hadn't been tossed into the sea or ripped to shreds.

Sighing, Renji checked to make sure Zabimaru was tucked securely at his side before venturing into the shell-shocked jungle.

He had been on the verge of refusing this assignment. Lieutenants were hardly ever sent to the real world to reap. As he had argued with his Captain, it was overkill.

But, he was here. Because they were still recovering from the war, and because Captain Kuchiki had declared (in that frosty way of his that drove Renji up the wall) that since Renji was 'dying' to do something other than paperwork, then this would suffice.

"Had to open my trap," Renji growled at himself as he tried to track where the activity had led. Judging from the various impact marks and cuts, there was more than one combatant involved.

The redhead blinked in surprise at some of the damage to the landscape. The damage was consistent with swords, but on such a level...to cut through stone, rock, and trees in single sweeps...

Now the fuktaicho was interested in his assignment. He sensed an energy about the air, but it wasn't...reiatsu from Soul Reapers, Espada, or Hollow. This was...

He blinked as he realized he couldn't really place what he was feeling. Then, with a careless shrug, he continued on.

Renji realized he was getting closer to...whatever had caused all this damage. He was finding splashes of burgundy in the sand, or against the destroyed stump of a tree.

He continued on for another quarter of an hour, becoming more somber as the blood grew more abundant, and fresher.

Renji paused just outside a small clearing, eyes narrowed as he took in the form that was hunched over a log.

Renji was fairly sure it was human- the arms, legs, torso, and head were there in all the right places. The cursing coming from it was certainly human enough.

But, this man...Renji's mouth turned up in a feral grin. This man must be a demon of some sort. No one could have survived that much blood loss, nor done that much damage to their surroundings with only two...wait, three swords.

Not to mention, the guy had mossy green hair.

Yup, definitely not human.

This was going to be interesting, he thought with a toothy smirk as he strode into the clearing, Zabimaru out and ready.

Shit. Damn. Fuck. Idiot. Fucker. Holy Shit, fucking cock-sucking fucker son of a bitch!

The pain didn't bother Zoro. The pain never really did.

The defeat was what was tearing him apart.

He had lost to Mihawk- AGAIN. And it seemed, this time with no friends there to help him out...he would be unable to fulfill his promise to Kuina.

"No," he whispered, gripping the log beneath him for support. He slipped, his hands cut and soaked with blood- his blood- and he fell. He let out a grunt as even more blood splashed onto his already covered face.

He could only remember one time when he had been this bad off. And that had been nothing. This...was somehow different.

This could kill him. This could keep him from keeping his promise.

Zoro shivered as he felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather.

Ah, this he was familiar with. He was going into shock.

Now all he had to do was get up-

He collapsed, hitting his head against the log. "...fucking shit," he growled.

"You're close," a low voice rumbled above him.

Zoro tried to breathe in, to help focus his eyes enough to see who it was. He finally got enough of a breather to look up into the face

Where was that stupid, shitty cook when you needed him? He'd laugh his ass off at this chump, Zoro thought dimly.

Black kimono and hakama, a single sword at his side, absurdly red hair that was up behind his head held back by a white bandana. And oh god, the eyebrow tattoos...

"Eh, Pineapple head?"

The somber, serious expression on the stranger's face slipped for a moment.

"Oi! Where do you get off calling me Pineapple Head, eh, Moss Head?!"

For some reason, Zoro was able to forget his wounds for the moment.

"What else am I supposed to call you? You show up outta nowhere and act all mysterious and 'you're close'. The hell does that mean, eh?!"

"It means you're close to death, you gay wad!"

"Oi! Where do you get off calling me THAT?!!"

"...you're wearing earrings in your gay ear-"

"THE HELL??!! YOU accgh!" Zoro gasped, blood clogging his throat and choking his last words. He forced the stuff out, and spat, gasping in more air.

"I don't plan on dyin' yet," he growled.

"You're wounds and spiritual pressure say otherwise," the eyebrow freak stated.

"The fuck you talkin' about? Who are you?"

"Abarai Renji, fuktaicho of the sixth division of the thirteen guards of Soul Society, and Soul Reaper."

"Roronoa Zoro, first mate to Captain Straw-hat Luffy and attempting to become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro coughed, sitting up at long last.

The man, Renji, moved to help him, but Zoro swatted his hand away. "Eh, wait. Soul Reaper? You mean...Shinigami? Ha," Zoro laughed. "Sure sure. Next you'll tell me that you can fly AND swim."

Renji gave him an odd look. "I can walk in the air by-"

"Whatever," Zoro interrupted, leaning back against the log. He shifted his various body parts, trying to come up with a mental tally of how much damage he had sustained and how bad.

Let's see...

Broken ribs, punctured lung probably, several stab wounds that were fairly deep, a dislocated shoulder, and a nice sized lump on his head where he had hit the log.

He'd had worse. He'd live...if he didn't die from his body going into shock.

"Hey, eyebrow freak, gimme a pull?" the swordsman asked, pointing to the arm that he kept limp at his side.

"Dislocated shoulder?" Renji queried, already knowing the answer.

"Yup."

Renji sheathed his weapon, sighing as he plodded over to Zoro's side.

"You seem the type to know that this'll hurt, so you know the drill. Count of three, then I yank."

Zoro nodded, and relaxed as Renji guided the arm out, and counted softly under his breath.

Zoro let out an intake of air as Renji pulled earlier than he expected, and with a loud crack, his shoulder was back was it was supposed to be.

"Bloody cock-sucking mother fucker," Zoro hissed as he breathed in.

"You're welcome."

The swordsman shifted his arm, then the shoulder, not blinking or wincing as some remaining phantom pain throbbed. He would be sore for a while.

He glanced up in surprise at a tearing noise. Renji crouched before the green-haired man, sleeveless now, and began to bind up the swordsman's more severe wounds.

"Thought you were a Soul Reaper? In't this against the rules or somethin'?" Zoro muttered, sitting still.

"Am. I cleanse souls that have already died. You're not dead yet, and it's not like I can jus' sit around and do nothin' while you suffer," the red head shrugged. "Less you wanna die?"

"Na, I'm good thanks."

"So, ya wanna be the best swordsman in the world, huh?" Renji asked as he gingerly tilted Zoro's head down to look at the lump.

"Yeah..."

"So why'd ya decided to lose?"

Steam rushed out of Zoro's ears as he glared at the red head.

"I didn' 'decide' to lose!"

Renji offered him a feral grin, which Zoro returned.

Two feral men, one a mongrel and the other a demon, stared at each other for several long moments, neither backing down.

One had centuries of running alone in the streets, leading a gang of young kids, being down-trodden and had been under the command of a stuck-up, cold noble that had one of the prettiest Bankai's in the Gotei 13.

The other had little over two decades of traveling, hunting dangerous men, doing intense training, and being under the command of a hyperactive, always-hungry-for-meat teenage boy.

It was a fair tossup.

"If ya didn't decide to lose, then why didja?"

Zoro's grin fell off his face, and he looked down at his knees, frowning. "I...wasn't strong enough. I've never been strong enough."

"Heh, then I'll just sit here an' wait on ya."

Zoro glanced up at the red-head, who had taken a seat on the log, drawing out his sword and starting to polish it.

"What?"

"Well, if yer not strong enough, then ya're gonna die. So I gotta wait on ya, ya asshole."

"I'm not gonna die!" Zoro roared, spitting out more blood. He leaned back against his log, panting slightly as he fought to stay awake.

"Then prove it," Renji breathed. "Prove that you're strong enough to live through this, and move on. Prove to me, and yerself, that you can become the greatest in the this world."

"I will," Zoro muttered. "...there's more than one world?"

Renji nodded, and got up, and beginning to gather dry wood. "Yup. I live in Soul Society you know. This is just one of many 'Real Worlds'."

"Swordsmen where you're from?" the green-haired man murmured, eyeballing Renji's sheathed weapon.

"Some of the best," the lieutenant proclaimed, kneeling next to his pile of wood, pointing his finger, and muttering something under his breath.

Zoro watched in surprise as a red flame ignited the pile and roared into a happy, warm blaze almost immediately.

"Nice trick," he grunted.

"And I'm not that great at kidu," Renji smirked.

"Kidu?"

"Eh, Demon Magic."

Zoro snorted, and turned to look back into the dancing flames, lost in thought.

The shinigami continued to search for wood, and once darkness had began to fall, wandered off to look for some dinner. Zoro managed to nod off during this time, waking up again when the freak had stomped back into the clearing, a dead boar being dragged behind him.

"So, what's it like bein' a shinigami?" Zoro asked later that night around a mouthful of meat. He was already feeling better; the danger of going into shock had passed, and he could already feel his wounds beginning to knit themselves back together.

Renji shrugged, and squeezed some more pineapple juice onto his chunk of food. "Don't really know what ta tell ya. Normally when you're a lower level one, you go to the real world to reap souls that have been left behind or to purify Hollows."

"Hollows?"

"Souls that have degraded to more...basic instincts," Renji explained awkwardly. "You know how when someone's lover or sibling dies, and they follow a year or so later?"

Zoro nodded.

"That's normally from a Hollow, not grief. Hollows will eat souls if they can."

"Ah. What about you? Didn't you say you were a commander or something?"

"Lieutenant!" Renji barked. "But normally the higher ups don't come to the real world, mainly because we tend to be very powerful. We stay behind, doing paperwork unless there's a real need for us."

"So why are you here then?" Zoro asked blandly, eyebrow cocked. "You piss someone off or what?"

"No," Renji gritted out. "This disturbance was considered odd, so they wanted to make sure they could send someone who could take care of themselves."

"Sure, that's what they always tell cannon fodder," Zoro droned.

"Shudup!"

The rest of dinner was spent getting into petty arguments, ranging from sword techniques to who had the worst hair.

Renji wasn't sure when it happened, maybe while he was ranting about juice boxes, but Zoro had nodded off, and was beginning to snore like a drunken sailor.

Muttering to himself, Renji took guard, occasionally checking on the fire or adding more wood.

He was impressed when Zoro woke up the next morning. Sometimes humans would get injured, fall asleep, and never wake up.

This Zoro was...interesting. And potentially dangerous.

The next few weeks involved a simple routine: Zoro would wake up in the morning, eat what Renji had prepared him without comment, check his wounds, and then he would practice his training as well as he could until dinner, where he and Renji would discuss various things of their different lives, and then Zoro would drop off into dreamland while Renji wandered around doing odd things before turning in himself.

"Oy, Renji?" Zoro asked some time later, after checking his wounds and finding them nearly healed.

"What, tea-bag head?" Renji grumbled from the fire pit.

"I wanna go to Soul Society with you."

"Bakarou," Renji snorted immediately. "You ain't going yet. You're not dying anymore, so ya gotta wait until you die."

"I thought you said I could still go though?" Zoro asked.

Renji frowned. When he had begun his tale of Ichigo coming to rescue Rukia from her execution, Zoro had nodded off before he could really get started.

Apparently he HAD been listening.

"Yeah," he agreed slowly. "But it's against the rules. Not only would I get in a heap of trouble, you'd probably be executed."

"I wanna go," Zoro said bluntly.

"Why? I thought you weren't ready to die yet," Renji sneered. "Promises to keep and all that."

"I don't," Zoro replied. "But I thought if I could beat your best swordsmen in Soul Society, then I could stand a better chance against Mihawk."

Renji couldn't fault his simple logic in that. While this Mihawk seemed more inhuman than Zoro, he didn't have kidu or a soul slayer. If Zoro could defeat the fighters of Soul Society when they had strength, magic, AND countless decades of experience on him...

"Renji," Zoro said, very serious and very somber now. "Lemme fight ya. If I win, you take me with you so I can fight the others."

The red-head narrowed his eyes at Zoro, weighing the risks, and the possible outcomes. "And if ya lose?"

"Then ya leave me here to die," Zoro stated simply. He leaned forward, offering Renji a very feral smile, all teeth and fangs. "You in, Shinigami?"

Renji felt his mouth mimicking Zoro's smile. "I'm in, grass head."


	2. Dust and Blood

Renji chose their field of battle, explaining to Zoro that they needed a lot of room, a lot of privacy, and a lot of things around them that wouldn't draw attention if anything (or everything) was smashed to bits.

Why it had to be at a normal looking shop, Zoro wasn't sure.

At least, until they headed past a trap door and found that there was a large area underneath the shop, full of rock, debris, and oddly enough, had a sky.

"Interesting trick," Zoro drawled as he began to stretch.

"Yeah," Renji grunted, following suit and mimicking some of the others movements. "Urahara-san will make me pay for everything of course, but he works me like a mule anyway when I'm here."

They fell silent as they continued to warm up. The silence thickened as they halted, and looked at each other, any sign of friendliness vanishing as they sized each other up.

Zoro untied his bandana from his arm, and then tied it over his forehead. He knew better than to take the shinigami lightly, even if he wasn't still recovering from his last battle. The red-head exuded...something. A rawness of energy that seemed almost feral, but was under tight control. He was dangerous, despite any and all appearances to the contrary.

He drew Wado, and gripped it tightly in his teeth while he drew his two others. The cursed one was reverberating in blood-lust, sensing the coming fight.

Renji grinned, eyes narrowed as he drew his single weapon. "Hihou, Zabimaru."

Zoro's eyes widened only slightly as Renji's sword wavered, and then shifted into a bigger version of itself...with jagged teeth along the edges. It seemed to be segmented, he noted quickly as Renji drew it back over his shoulder. Did that mean it could separate?

"HA!"

Renji's arm snapped forward, and the sword flew, then _curved_ towards Zoro, almost whip-like in it's movement-

He blocked it with his two swords, crossing them over his chest. He growled, twisted his swords, and shoved off the attacking weapon.

He watched it cautiously as it sailed back towards Renji, segments making an audible click as they came back together.

A sword as a ranged weapon, without leaving the wielder's hands.

Interesting, Zoro thought with a grin as he darted towards his opponent.

He leaped back as the whip with teeth came flying back towards him, almost snagging his legs on the first swing. He easily jumped over it on the second swing, and kept going towards Renji. He had to duck and then roll away from his attack as the blade chased after him, intent on shredding him.

"Heh. No wonder you lost," Renji snorted as his weapon drew back once more. "If you're always on the defensive, you'll eventually fail anyway."

Renji vanished with a flicked of black, and it was only Zoro's heightened sense of perception that saved him from the fanged weapon as it attacked from behind; he sprung aside, and the vicious blade sank harmlessly into the ground.

"Not such a great swordsman if you can't counter-attack," Renji laughed, once more drawing the sword back, segments seeming to mock Zoro as they clicked and chattered like laughing monkeys.

"You talk too much," he grunted, and charged headlong.

Zoro danced lightly to the side as the blade came at him, blocked it's return attack from his other side, and then leaped towards the stationary shinigami.

He used Wado to block the blade's attempt at a parry, and he slammed into Renji, sending them both tumbling into the dirt, clawing at each other as they fought for leverage.

Zoro ignored the snagging feeling in his side as Zabimaru finally bit him, and with a final grunt, forced Renji to stay on his back. With his knees digging into his kidneys, his two blades embedded in the sleeves of Renji's outfit, and Wado at Renji's neck, Zoro felt confidant that it was time to congratulate himself on a job well done.

Renji seemed to not be thinking on the same wavelength as he continued to writhe and struggle beneath the green-haired man.

"Oy, fuck-face," he growled in the red-head's ear. "I won. Just admit it."

Renji glared darkly up at Zoro's hair for a long moment, then slowly smiled.

"Bankai."

Zoro was thrown off by a huge surge of power, and was slammed into some nearby rocks as the power kept coming in red waves, eroding nearby rocks, and pulling up a cloud of dust around Renji.

What the fuck did the idiot do?

A large snake skull emerged from the cloud, fanged mouth open at Zoro in a roar. A red mane of hair appeared behind it's neck, and as the dust settled, Zoro could see that it's body seemed almost like bamboo; long, segmented, and hard. It was curled around Renji, who now wore a furry cloak with small skulls on the shoulder pads. He wielded the end of the giant snake in his hand; much smaller than the rest of the beast.

Renji let Zoro take another moment to look over his monstrous pet before smiling, and sending Zabimaru sailing at him with it's mouth open.

"Nice knowin' ya Moss head."

Rock splinters went flying out of a dust cloud as the snake connected where Zoro was.

A roar resounded from the sword as the dust cleared, and Renji's smile slipped for a fraction of a second.

Zoro had met the snake head on, and was holding off it's fangs with his two swords lodged firmly against the jaw-bones of the creature. He was straining against Zabimaru's strength, but by occasionally using the rock behind him for support, he kept the angry snake at bay.

"Oy, shit-head, you're hurt," Renji called out, noticing blood dripping from Zoro's side. "You keep fightin' like this and you're spleen'll pop out."

"Oni giri," Zoro breathed.

Renji felt the echos of pain from his soul slayer as the man easily EASILY cut through Zabimaru's jaw, sending the separated pieces flying. He didn't stop there; the man kept swinging, slicing, and chopping through Zabimaru as though the snake was nothing but paper.

Ignoring the sounds of pain from his soul slayer, Renji quickly ushered the pieces back together as fast as he could, aware that he would be vulnerable in this state.

He stilled when he felt a blade at his throat for the second time that day.

"Give," Zoro breathed softly, eyes hard.

"Higa Zekko!"

The broken pieces of the bamboo snake halted where they were in mid-air, and began to glow a deep crimson. Zoro glared at them- how dare not act like normal bits of bamboo or bone-

The glowing pieces flared, and flew at the swordsman.

Renji winced as some of the pieces cut into him as well, but the majority of the damage had been done to Zoro.

The moss-head didn't move. He was still straddling Renji, and his blades were still steady. But Zoro was beginning to spout blood from all over his body like some macabre fountain, the streams running down his form and joining with other bodies of blood.

Now was Renji's chance-

Renji quickly pieced Zabimaru back together, and drew the snake back towards him. The reassembled snake roared as it curled around it's master and his opponent. "Zabimaru-"

The snake roared again, this time in pain, and crashed into the ground as Zoro sliced cleanly into Renji.

His arms fell limp at his sides after the familiar stab of pain had almost immediately faded; Zabimaru had crashed due to his inability to guide it properly anymore.

"Bastard, what'd you do?" Renji hissed as Zoro kneed him hard in the kidneys, and drew his sword to his neck again.

"Cut the nerves in your arms that connected them to yer head," Zoro growled. "Now you can't control that damn snake. Now _give_."

"Fuck you," Renji snarled, trying to reach up and choke the other warrior. He felt panicked when he didn't even get a twitch from his fingers.

"No thank you," Zoro drawled, pressing the very edge of his submissive sword against the skin of Renji's neck. A small drop of blood emerged from the inked skin. "GIVE."

"Never!" Renji roared, pulling his knees up and kicking out at Zoro.

The swordsman blocked Renji's kick, a bored look on his face.

"I'm not finished," the red-head hissed, eyes lowering as he glanced up at the swordsman. Zoro glanced around warily as the dust picked up once more as Renji glowed red, and then-

The giant snake vanished, and Renji's clothing had returned to normal. His blade lay in his hand, still in it's second form.

Not that it really mattered, as Zoro knew for a fact that Renji could not use it at the moment since the nerves in his arms had been sliced-

"Higa Zekko!"

Zoro's eyes widened slightly as the sword glowed red again, and in a split second decision, dropped his swords and drew the other against him- hard.

"Oy oy oyOY! Where you get off hugging me like this?"

"You wanna use that trick on me again?" Zoro growled, ignoring Renji's squirming and just tightening his grip. "Then you're gonna use it on yourself too!"

"My my, Abarai-kun, you HAVE gotten into trouble," a sing-song voice chirped from nearby.

Zoro glanced towards the voice, taking in the new visitor.

Green and white striped hat; clogs, a green haori, a simple cane, and a fan that the man seemed to be using to cover his expressions.

"How did you manage to get into such a predicament Abarai-kun?"

"Stay outta this Urahara," the red-head growled, trying to push away Zoro, but failing.

"Ah, but this _is_ my shop, so I'm afraid I must interfere," the man chortled, stepping closer. "Even if it's a quarrel between lovers!"

"W-what?"

Zoro ignored the strange man's comment, and looked him over, and then settled on looking at his cane, eyes narrowed.

"Ah, you know this isn't an ordinary cane, don't you?" Urahara murmured.

Zoro nodded. "I can hear it...her. She's a vain thing."

The man nodded, and tilted his hat more over his eyes. "Guest-kun, why are you attacking my free-loader?"

"He promised to fight me. If I won, I could go to Soul Society to fight their best swordsmen," Zoro stated bluntly, ignoring Renji's askance looks. "If I lost, I would die. I won, but he's not giving in."

"Hmm," Urahara nodded, glancing at the revolving, glowing Zabimaru bits. "Abarai, call Zabimaru back in and surrender. Now."

The man's voice hadn't changed, but Zoro wasn't surprised when Renji obeyed;the glowing pieces disappeared, and Renji's sword looking like any other sword once more.

"You will honor your agreement," Urahara continued. Renji groaned, but was ignored by the shop-keeper. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the...details. You will not get in trouble for this. I will," he added brightly. "Because I'll send both of you back to Soul Society!"

Zoro withdrew his swords as Renji spluttered comically on the ground. "Bu-But Urahara-san! He-!"

"Guest-san? There's a pool about fifty meters behind you," Urahara pointed with his fan. "Would you be kind enough to drag Renji with you? I think you'll find it beneficially to you and his continued health."

Zoro nodded, and ignoring Renji's roar of protest, easily picked up the red head, tossed him over his shoulder, and walked off towards the exit.

"Um, Guest-san? The pools are _that_ way," Urahara said, pointing back the way Zoro had came. "Just...just follow the large rock formations."

Zoro nodded, turned around, and headed back.

When he found the pools some thirty minutes later (no thanks to Renji's yelling in his ear), Zoro stopped at the edge, and tried to judge the depth. With a shrug, he sent Renji flying in head-first.

"B-Baka!" Renji howled when he popped back up. "I can't use my arms! If it had been any deeper I could have drowned! And why the hell did you leave my clothes on?"

Zoro shrugged, and then climbed out of his clothing before hopping into the pool, and wading over to Renji.

He ignored Renji's grunting as he helped the other man out of his clothing, and tossed them onto dry land before taking Renji's sword, and gingerly setting it aside, trying to ignore the animal howling that seemed to be coming from it. His own swords were silent, save for the bloodthirsty one, who was howling back at him just as loudly.

Renji sighed, and settled into the water, leaning his head back against the wall. Zoro followed suit, ignoring the twinge from his side.

"So that guy was a shinigami too, huh?"

Renji opened one eye to look at him, and then nodded. "Used to be captain of the twelfth squad before he left Soul Society."

"Huh," was all Zoro said, then noticed that Renji's arms were moving beneath the water. "Oy! What the-"

"These are healing pools," Renji sighed, sinking deeper into the water with a content groan. "Even your wounds aren't so bad now."

Indeed, Zoro's side was almost completely healed, and some of the worse cuts and gouges he had received were no longer bleeding. On a hunch, he cupped his hands, and drank from the pool.

Renji made a face, but didn't say anything. Eventually, he sighed, and followed suit.

"So how we gonna get to your place?"

The red-haired shinigami frowned. "Urahara has a sekken gate that only he has control over. Probably through that. Yeah, since he's takin' full responsibility, yeah, it'll be his and not the one I can open."

Zoro nodded, and leaned back, eyes closing as he enjoyed the hot spring pools.

Well, one down, he thought with a small grin.

Mihawk didn't stand a chance once he got finished with Soul Society.

* * *

_**Wow, I actually updated this. In all honesty, I forgot about this story between life, working on Shaping Bonsais and Hiccups, and just...everything. Since I had a few people request that I continue where I left off (sorry), there was the next chapter. I don't know when I'll update either story next (I seem to have lost my writing mojo) but hopefully soon. **_

**_Toodles, and thank you for reading. _**


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